Warren gale



W. GALE.

Straw Cutter.

Patented Feb. 12, 1867.

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IMPROVEMENT IN STRAW-GUTTERS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that "I, WARREN GALE, oi Chicdpce Falls, in the county ofHampden, and in the State'of Massachusetts, have invent-ed a cer ain newand useful Improvement in Feed-Cutters and'I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing'had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willnow describe its construction and operation. In the drawings Figure 1 isa plan view.

Figure 2 is a section in which the gearing is shown.

The nature of my invention consists in gearing together the twocylinders of an ordinary slide cylinder straw-cutter. lhese cylindersusually consist of a hidc roller, used to cut'against, andwhich I callthe pressure cylinder A, and a cylinder armed with spiral knives, a,whiohI call the cutting cylinder B; C the sliding-box; D the spring; Ethe screw.

My pressure cylinder is constructed with disks of raw-hide, leather,wood, or other similar material. Each disk has a hole in its centre,,and by putting a suiiicient number of these disks upon a shaft we formthe pressure cylinder. These disks should have suflicient material inthem, so that when the cylinder which they form is worn away, so thatthe gearing can no longer drive the machine, we can remove the gearingand a very considerable amount of use can be obtained from the pressurecylinder in the future. Having learned from experience that none o'i'themetals can be used without gearing, I especially exclude them in thisspecification. I have found by repeated trials that gearing the twocylinders together is of very great advantage in this class of cutters.'Whenmade without gearing, the pressure cylinder is driven wholly by theaction of the knife edges striking against it, and this is always moreor less detrimental to the knives, as well as disastrous in its effectson the pressure cylinder, for the knives strike at diiferent places onthe cylinder, scarcely ever on the same place. It follows that each ofthe knives is constantly making new cuts on the cylinder, and eventuallycausing the machine to run hard, besides rapidly rendering the machineperfectly useless. This quick destruction of the pressure cylinder,requiring frequent and eiipen-sive repairs, is one of the mostobjectionable features of this class of straw-cutters. By the use of thegearing the durability of the cylinder A is increased at least fivetimes more in using it thus, than in using it without gearing, evenbefore cylinder A is worn down the depth of the teeth. And when thecylinder A is constructed as above described, after it is Worn so thatthe gearing can no longer be used, it can be removed and still more usebe gotten out of the cylinder A. I am aware that machines of thisclass'have heretofore been constructed with gearing; as, for example, mypatent of September 12, 1854; and alsoin my pending.

application, executed in 1866. In my patent of September 12, 1854, apressure cylinder is shown with a strip of hide to out against. Thisdoes not anticipate my present invention, which consists in gearing acylinder of spiral knives to arollcr of fullcyiindrical form,constructed of disk of hide or wood. In these machines, as ordinarilyconstructed, in order to insures. greater durability in the hidecylinders, so as to prevent almost immediate repairs, the diameter ofthe pressure cylinder is generally made considerably greater than thecutting cylinder. -But there result from this several disadvantages. Thecost is greatly increased, the enlarged cylinder does not work so wellas the small cylinder, and it does not admit of so large a body of strawto the knives as the small cylinder. When gearing is used, it isessential that the edge of the knife,.and the surface of the cylinderwhere the knife strikes, should move at equal speed while in contact,hence the cylinder which is out against is not generally madeof a largerdiameter than the cutting cylinder; consequently more than the cost ofapplying the gearing is saved in cost of material when the cylinder isconstructed of hide. The application of gearing to this class of cutterswill be useful not only-in constructing new machines, but also inrepairing old ones, as most any machine of this class now in use canhave the gearing applied, and thereby greatly improve the machine. Thewooden pressure cylinder, constructed as hereinbeforedescribed, althoughit may not be in all respects equal to the rawhide, when used withgearing, w'ill answer a good purpose for repairing old machines now inuse. The wooden cylinder and the gearing can readily be made and appliedin the ordinary machine shops ot the country, frequently at much lesscost than the mere cost of transportation .of the old machine to thefactory. While the hide roller is constructed ofraw-hide, prepared forthis purpose expressly; is not easily obtained by count'ryshops; iscutinto form and pressedinto-a roller by machinery constructed for. thisobject alone, for these reasons I recommend wooden pressure cylindersfor repairs. The hide cylinder is constructed by me in the usual manner.When I use a wooden cylinder, I construct it of disks of wood about aninch thick, the grain of each disk being across I the grain of itsadjoining disk or disks. The disks should be firmly secured on the shaftand well glued together, using glue not easily dissolved in water, andonly thebest seasoned wood. I construct the machine with the usual crankand fly-wheel, and mount it on a suitable frame. The feed or material tobe out, being placed in the box within the range or reach of the cuttingand pressure cylinders, is drawn into the machine and cut off in theusual manner. The knives may be put on in any of the usual ways of sodoing. When the pressure cylinder has become worn, so as to not cutwell, the screws E are turned back, the gearing released, and a newadjustment made, bringing the knife in contact with the pressurecylinder in a new place.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows 1.- The pressurecylinder A, constructed substantially as described, and geared to thecutting cylinder B, in such a manner that the edge of the knife orknives shall, at the point of contact with the pressure cylinder, moveat equal speed therewith, when thesaid pressure cylinder is constructedof disks of wood, raw-hide, leather, or'other similar material, (notincluding metals of any kind,) and is offull cylindrical form,substantially as set forth.

2. I claim, in combination with the above claim, sliding-box A, screws EE, spring D, operating as described and the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above-described invention, I have hereuntosigned mv name this 15th day of October, 1866.

WARREN GALE.

Witnesses S. R. KNAPP, B. BASSETT.

